| First Author | Patra AK | Year | 2013 |
| Journal | Nat Immunol | Volume | 14 |
| Issue | 2 | Pages | 127-35 |
| PubMed ID | 23263556 | Mgi Jnum | J:192612 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:5465492 | Doi | 10.1038/ni.2507 |
| Citation | Patra AK, et al. (2012) An alternative NFAT-activation pathway mediated by IL-7 is critical for early thymocyte development. Nat Immunol 14(2):127-35 |
| abstractText | Interleukin 7 (IL-7) has a critical role in the development of early CD4(-)CD8(-) double-negative (DN) thymocytes. Although the transcription factor STAT5 is an important component of IL-7 signaling, differences in the phenotypes of mice deficient in STAT5, IL-7, IL-7 receptor alpha (IL-7ralpha) or the kinase Jak3 suggest the existence of STAT5-independent IL-7 signaling. Here we found that IL-7-Jak3 signals activated the transcription factor NFATc1 in DN thymocytes by phosphorylating Tyr371 in the regulatory region of NFATc1. This NFAT-activation pathway was critical for the survival and development of DN thymocytes, as deficiency in NFATc1 blocked thymocyte development at the DN1 stage, leading to T cell lymphopenia. In addition, our results demonstrated a cooperative function for NFATc1 and STAT5 in guiding thymocyte development in response to IL-7 signals. |
